Yatsenyuk was confronted by a representative of the Western-Ukrainian Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community who said to him: “Many people live in love, but not in law. Promise me that if you become president, you will legalize same-sex relationships, and I promise that all gays and lesbians will vote for you.”

But Yatsenyuk, who leads “Fatherland” in the absence of jailed leader Yulia Tymoshenko, revealed that he rejects gay marriage because his personal beliefs stand in the way of any political position.

“I can tell you about this separately as a Christian and a Greek Catholic,” he said. “I do not support gay marriage.”

His reply has disappointed the LGBT community in Ukraine, which has looked to the Opposition for accommodation on social issues.

Yatsenyuk’s stance will also surprise western European gay rights groups, which had warned gay football fans last year that they could experience hostility while travelling to Poland and Ukraine for the Euro 2012championship. By the end of the tournament there were few reported problems.

Last month Ukraine’s foreign minister Leonid Kozhara announced that Ukraine will introduce a law prohibiting discrimination against gays, which will afford them protection in line with European Union nations.

“The issue of homosexuals is now generating strong controversy in Ukraine, but our government has already prepared a draft law and will soon submit it to the parliament,” he said.

[...] Also missing is the fact that the new proxy government in Kiev is led by overt bigots, racists, and torch bearers of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi ideology - with the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk literally leading a party called “Fatherland,” espousing bigotry which even caught the attention of Amnesty International in its 2008 report, “Overview of Lesbian and Gay Rights in Eastern Europe (.pdf),” and more recently in LGBT Weekly’s 2013 article, ”Leading Ukraine Opposition figure surprises supporters by denouncing gay marriage.” [...]